The New Zealand Prime Minister’s live broadcast interruptions got a new episode this week. Jacinda Ardern was making a statement through Facebook about the changes in restrictions imposed to contain Covid-19 in the country, when it was interrupted.
This time, it wasn’t an earthquake, like the 5.8 magnitude that disrupted an interview with Jacinda in May 2020, or the 5.9 magnitude that disrupted her again last month.
“Mommy?”, one hears on the video. It was Neve, 3, the prime minister’s daughter.
“You should be in bed, honey,” said Jacinda, 41, mid-stream. “It’s bedtime, darling. Go to bed, I’ll see you right away,” he added, apologizing to his followers.
“Well, bedtime didn’t work. I thought it would be a good time to do a live on Facebook, which would be nice and safe,” said the prime minister jokingly. “Do anyone else’s kids get up three, four times after bedtime? Fortunately, my mom is here to help.”
‘Well, where were we?’ asked Jacinda, about to resume her message, when Neve’s voice again interrupts her mother. “Why is it taking so long?”, asks the child.
“Sorry, my love, it’s been taking a while. Well, sorry guys. I’m going to put Neve to bed because it’s late for her. Thanks for coming with me,” concludes the prime minister.
This isn’t the first time Neve has attracted attention. In 2018, her birth made Jacinda the second world leader to give birth during her tenure — the pioneer was Pakistani Benazir Bhutto, in 1990.
The New Zealander also made history by taking her daughter to the UN General Assembly in New York last year. While her mother spoke, the three-month-old Neve sat on her father’s lap, presenter Clarke Gayford. On that occasion, the child even received an official badge for participating in the event.
Reopening in the biggest city in the country
This Wednesday (9), stores and malls in Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand, were allowed to open for the first time in three months. Stores were packed, and eager shoppers began lining up even before opening.
Libraries, museums and zoos were also allowed to open, but the hotel sector is expected to remain closed. On her first visit to Auckland since August, Jacinda said the light at the end of the tunnel for hotels is the vaccination goal. “We will see reopenings in the very near future when Auckland starts to hit those targets,” he said.
The prime minister also announced that the city will change its strategy in fighting Covid-19. Instead of enacting new lockdowns, Auckland will adopt a “traffic light” system, in which each region is colored according to the incidence of new cases of the disease.
The change will only take effect, however, when at least 90% of residents are fully vaccinated. Currently, 84% of Auckland’s population has a full vaccination schedule.
Despite New Zealand’s success in dealing with the pandemic — which many analysts have attributed to Jacinda’s leadership model, which focuses on communication and empathy — the country has struggled with outbreaks of the more contagious delta variant.
This Tuesday (9), about 3,000 people against the restrictions gathered in front of the Beehive, the New Zealand Parliament building, in Wellington, to protest. Many of the protesters carried posters calling for “freedom”, and some displayed images of former US President Donald Trump.
Since the start of the pandemic, New Zealand has recorded 7,776 cases and 32 deaths from Covid-19. Despite having received criticism for the late start of the immunization campaign, the country applied at least the first dose in 77% of the population, and the vaccination schedule is complete in 65% of New Zealanders, according to data from the portal Our World in Data.
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